2021 Super Bowl (post)

Chiefs 9-31 Bucs

Looking back in my previous post over my description of what I thought this game would be, I kinda got it right. Or at least I was right about the Bucs, but not so right about the Chiefs. 

The Chiefs just never got any offense going and we haven't seen that in ages. Deep into the 4th quarter, the Chiefs haven't moved the ball at all, Mahomes has been running for his life all night, I still expected them to score two TDs. That's what didn't happen, that's what we've been watching the Chiefs do for a while now and it just did not come together on this night. 

It really is kinda shocking that they couldn't figure out how to use Hardman or Pringle or LaVeon Bell (did he even play?) or Edwards-Helaire, they couldn't figure out how to get Hill loose for one big play. The Chiefs haven't shown that kind of ineptitude in a long time. That banged-up offensive line really stung them. By the 4th quarter Mahomes was looking for defenders rather than receivers, he struggled through, played like a champ but just couldn't get out of the mud he was running in. He looked like he was drunk by the end of the game. 

As for the Bucs, their D-line was excellent and those LBs were magnificent. Their front 7 gave an amazing performances against a great offense. Mahomes didn't have his usual sure-footedness and the Bucs took full advantage. They were after him all night. 

On the other side, Brady was Brady. The Bucs ran the ball well--really impressed with Fournette all through the playoffs, he had a great post-season (*)--and went with a rather old timey looking balanced offense to control the clock, eke out 1st downs and wear out the Chiefs D. (**) Brady is the GOAT-est. 

Bric-a-brac: The Chiefs calling timeouts before halftime was mystifying to me. What did they think they were gonna do if they got the ball back? They were better off running out the clock and getting the Bucs off the field and for them to think otherwise is...uh...inexplicable. 

For that matter, why wasn't the Punter ready to play? I get that he's only punted like, 8 times, all year or whatever, but this game is the final game, the only game that matters. You've got to be ready for all occurrences and that means pumping the P if need be. His shank was a godsend to the Bucs. 

I would've given the MVP to the Bucs D-line but that never happens in football. And even though Fournette, too, was great, the QB always gets the MVP, so I'm cool with Brady.  

This reminded me of the 2015 Championship: Ohio State suffocated Oregon. The game wasn't a blowout but in the 4th quarter the Ducks just gave up on even trying to move the ball. They were spent and that's how Chiefs looked. 

Early predictions. I'll take the Chiefs to be back next year. The Browns and Bills aren't going away but I think the Chiefs are better and will be better. We'll see about the Ravens, I can't tell if they're headed up or down. And the Pats won't suck, I guarantee it. Gonna be quite the QB carousel this off-season, I suspect the Colts (and maybe the Steelers) to be the best positioned to make a spicy pickup.

I guess the Bucs will be good, but like this year, they'll probably be spotty for 12 weeks and everyone will think they suck and then they'll try to turn it on down the stretch; might work, might not. I think the Rams will be good, the Packers will be the Packers, and I got a weird feeling the Cowboys will be good. And the Seahawks won't suck. We'll see how the QB carousel turns, feels like everyone else in the NFC will act like they need a new one.

Next season looks to feature a bunch of QBs in new places and of course rookies and 2nd year QBs (Burrow, Herbert, Tua) that keep football unpredictable. I'm ready for baseball now but I'll be ready for football when the time comes. 

(*) Hmmmm....can you see him a Patriots jersey next season?

(**) There was some complaint about all the defensive penalties on the Chiefs: hey, man, I thought the refs were letting a lot of grabbing go all through the playoffs (Bucs-Packers, for example, was particularly grabby in both defensive secondaries). So if the Chiefs have a complaint it is that the refs suddenly tightened up in the final game. I'm not saying the Chiefs didn't commit those penalties (although that one PI up the sideline where the defender fell down, I'm not sure there was any contact and it was certainly not a catchable ball), I'm saying they've been committing those penalties and not getting called (any Bills and Browns fan will tell ya).